What is going on with DHS ?!

[xstech25]

The hotel prices are tiered on income levels hence why you see the Deluxe marketed to people in Westchester County NY, Kenilworth/Winnetka, IL while you will see the moderates/values targeted to people with more modest middle class incomes. You also have to take into consideration that they are managing worldwide demand, there may be only a very small amount of super-high income people in the States compared to the overall population, but consider that they pull from Europe/Asia/South America as well and it becomes a lot more clear how they fill the rooms (especially from countries where they get a good exchange rate on the currency).

Supply & Demand

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Oddly enough, so many people aren't paying Disney's extortionistic prices that they are having to convert Deluxes to timeshares.

This is a business model only idiots could have come up with.

What kind of brain dead moron do you have to be to not be able to fill a nice hotel that is literally connected via monorail to the #1 tourist attraction in the frickin' UNIverse! Seriously, they have 17 million people a year go past The Poly, and they are bumping off the low 40% occ rate. It doesn't take a frickin' rocket scientist to figure out that they simply are doin' it wrong.

 

[Andrea 55]

I get aggravated with the idea that FP+is "free". No we do not pay an additional charge for FP+, but we are paying for it. Airlines never charged for checked bags or for meals, but they weren't "free". I'm wondering when guests will be scooped up by the ankles and shaken for loose change at bag check before entering a Disney park. I just feel like the quality of the experience is declining and the prices continue to increase. On top of that, most new announcements are for hard ticket events.
IMO DHS will remain as is for a long time. After all, arranging a new M&G or a new show is much cheaper and faster than creating new attractions. Plus if they can throw in an additional hard ticket event around the show, Disney makes even more money. Additionally, when attendance for a show starts to decline, it can be replaced. From Disney's POV, they aren't motivated to make improvements because their attendance numbers are strong.

 

[Lord_Vader]

I get aggravated with the idea that FP+is "free". No we do not pay an additional charge for FP+, but we are paying for it. Airlines never charged for checked bags or for meals, but they weren't "free". I'm wondering when guests will be scooped up by the ankles and shaken for loose change at bag check before entering a Disney park. I just feel like the quality of the experience is declining and the prices continue to increase. On top of that, most new announcements are for hard ticket events.
IMO DHS will remain as is for a long time. After all, arranging a new M&G or a new show is much cheaper and faster than creating new attractions. Plus if they can throw in an additional hard ticket event around the show, Disney makes even more money. Additionally, when attendance for a show starts to decline, it can be replaced. From Disney's POV, they aren't motivated to make improvements because their attendance numbers are strong.

Free is a relative term for most when the item is available for no additional charge. I would think most on these boards agree that nothing at WDW is truly free, you are paying for everything you see and do but the experiences are included in your gate fee.

 

[Andrea 55]

Free is a relative term for most when the item is available for no additional charge. I would think most on these boards agree that nothing at WDW is truly free, you are paying for everything you see and do but the experiences are included in your gate fee.

The reason I get tired of people saying FP+ is free is when it's compared to Front of the Line access at other parks. IMO FP+ cannot be compared to Front of the line, since most guests have a limited selection since the parks are so crowded. I just view FP+ as a crowd management program, with very limited benefit for most guests. I don't think this was some generous act on Disney's part.

 

[heath.sneyd]

When I started planning my trip, I was clueless about all the changes going on at DHS. I was really looking forward to the park, and was hoping to make a full day out of it. I've always been a movie buff, and the last time I was there back in 2003, we didn't have much time in DHS because we went the day we marched through MK (I was on Spring Trip with my HS marching band.) So after all the reading, our plans there have GREATLY changed to two half days, one in the first half for rides, and a 2nd half day for fireworks & shows.

Because Tower of Terror and Rock N' Roller coaster is there and if they demolish that I will do not nice things.

Yeah, pretty much the only two highlights for me now

 

[Epcot-Rules]

I don't blame Disney. I blame the person who spends that much money. That's who's really at fault.

You are 100% correct. The problem is not Disney, the problem is the people who continue to spend money at Disney. Disney would change after 2 years of losses. Shareholders would demand change when the stocks go down. If Disney can continue to cut while turning profits, there will be no change. As long as people continue to spend the money, it will continue to be more of the same old same old!

 

[Kamikaze]

And that is one of the reasons why I am skipping DHS next time I go to WDW, because there's nothing new or so overly unique that makes me want to go again.

Tower of Terror?

 

[Philharmagically]

Tower of Terror?

It was fun, but there are only 3 rides worth going on at DHS. Rockin' Roller Coaster (Doesn't matter, I'll get my inverted coaster fix at Uni), Tower of Terror (Really only has that impact the first time you ride, plus it's more fun if you have someone you know going on it with you who is absolutely terrified!), and Toy Story Mania (no point riding unless you have a FP, and I prefer Buzz in MK).
So I still stand by my decision for my next trip to be 2 days MK, 1 day EP, 1 day both Uni parks.

 

[SCB502]

How about every other corporate theme park in the world (Universal, Six Flags, Cedar Fair, Sea World) that charges an arm and a leg just to buy a pass to skip the line of the rides you already paid to go on. Disney is the ONLY company that doesn't do this on a mass scale. Have you been to Halloween Horror Nights? Universal sells so many of them that even the Express lines are over 30 minutes. At Six Flags parks the prices for line skip passes have gone up over 500% in the past 10 years! (in 2004 they were $10 now they are tiered from $60-100), and they sell more of them than ever. And now they sell them ride by ride as well, so if a ride has a long line there is a sign at the entrance that says "skip the line right now for __$." That's like slap in your face greed. Actually its one of the reasons I enjoy visiting Disney Parks so much more than other parks, not being slapped in the face with ads to skip the lines everywhere I go (pay just $30-100 to skip the lines on the rides you've already paid to ride!)

You brought up your home parks Kings Island and Cedar Point: Cedar Point's most expensive coasters like TTD and Millennium Force cost around $25 million to build. Rides like Expedition Everest and Mission Space cost well over $100 million. Do you have any idea what the budgets are for Avatar, Star Wars, Rivers of Light, etc? These probably cost more than any other company will ever sniff. How about that Six Flags parking price of $25 which $17 at Disney? How about that $6 Coke at Cedar Point which is $3 at Disney? (Yes I have been to all these parks). I think Disney does a much better job at pretty much everything than Cedar Fair (as much as I loved waiting in a 30 minute line Rebel Yell at Kings Dominion while it was running a whopping 1 OUT OF 4 trains).

QUOTE]
I can read other people's posts without seeing things that aren't there. I said Disney keeps charging more while cutting. I asked for someone to give me an example of any other company in any field that makes these cuts and charges more for their product. You went off on some other rant about what other companies do wrong. So I guess you believe two wrongs make a right? Maybe you haven't been to WDW in a while so you haven't been able to see all the things they are charging extra for now. Extra money to get closer to a Frozen stage show that lasts about two minutes at MGM? Hey, at least it's not an ad to skip the line!
You are right though that Disney spends more money on their rides than Cedar Point or King's Island. Disney spent 300 million on some rocks with a restaurant and two pretty average rides. I'll take Cedar Point's investment of 50 million for two world class rides over New Fantasy Land any day.
P.S. Give Disney time, I'm pretty sure that you will be paying in some way to be able to skip the line.

 

[SCB502]

The hotel prices are tiered on income levels hence why you see the Deluxe marketed to people in Westchester County NY, Kenilworth/Winnetka, IL while you will see the moderates/values targeted to people with more modest middle class incomes. You also have to take into consideration that they are managing worldwide demand, there may be only a very small amount of super-high income people in the States compared to the overall population, but consider that they pull from Europe/Asia/South America as well and it becomes a lot more clear how they fill the rooms (especially from countries where they get a good exchange rate on the currency).

Supply & Demand

Alright XS, you got me fired up now. You are a very argumentative have to be right kind of guy aren't you? On this you are totally wrong as it seems you have been in several of your posts in the Frozen Complainers thread. WDW's deluxe hotels are at very low occupancy rates. The prices have nothing to do with supply and demand. I don't know what the pricing structure is based on, someone's fantasy world maybe, but definitely not supply and demand.

 

[DManRightHere]

Someone said great movie ride closed and any expansions are not star wars related, is this true?

I hope they start heavy construction after the new year and announce nothing.

 

[Matt_Black]

I asked for someone to give me an example of any other company in any field that makes these cuts and charges more for their product.

The video game industry. Prices of new games have gone up, and yet the game itself is incomplete. While previously, companies would offer free patches, now, they're calling them "upgrades" and charging you for them.

 

[SCB502]

The video game industry. Prices of new games have gone up, and yet the game itself is incomplete. While previously, companies would offer free patches, now, they're calling them "upgrades" and charging you for them.

See @xstech25, @Matt_Black answered my question twice now. He didn't result to attacks and name calling, that's how decent civilized human beings hold conversations.